An 85-year-old French widow returned to France on Friday after 16 days in U.S. immigration custody, her son said. Marie-Thérèse Ross was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Alabama on April 1 for overstaying her 90-day visa. Speaking to reporters in her hometown of Orvault in western France, her son Hervé Goix said his mother needs time to recover from the detention.

The detention has drawn scrutiny from French officials. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods were “not in line” with French standards and “not acceptable to us.”

Home After 16 Days

Marie-Thérèse Ross sat with her son and two grandchildren in the town of Orvault after stepping off a plane in her native France. She had been in the United States for less than a year.

Hervé Goix told reporters Friday that her detention had been an ordeal. “We are particularly relieved today to see our mother again, to have her back,” he said. “She has necessarily gone through a difficult ordeal.”

The family spoke alongside the mayor of Orvault, Sébastien Arrouët, who had visited Ross since her return. “She is delighted, she is happy, she is relieved,” the mayor told French media. “Put yourselves in her place, in a country she knows a little bit, it all happened to her so suddenly. We don’t realize the psychological violence. She needs to process all this, and the most important thing is that she is back with us.”

How She Arrived

Ross entered the United States in June after marrying a retired American military veteran who had been stationed in France in the 1960s. They had known each other for decades. According to court records, her husband died of natural causes in January.

After his death, a dispute erupted over his estate. Her stepson, a U.S. federal employee, allegedly intervened to arrange her detention in immigration custody, according to an Alabama judge’s finding. The exact circumstances of that intervention remain unclear from public records.

The Detention

Ross was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Alabama on April 1 after overstaying her 90-day visa. She was in the process of applying for a green card when the detention occurred. Federal immigration agents transferred her to a detention facility in Louisiana, where she was held for 16 days.

Records show she was taken from her home in her nightgown without her phone, passport, or other identification.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot subsequently commented on her detention. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods were not in line with French standards and not acceptable to us,” he said.

Recovery and Family Care

Goix told The Associated Press that protecting his mother is the family’s “absolute priority.” He said his mother has been reunited with her children and grandchildren and needs time to rest and recover from the ordeal.

The mayor of Orvault confirmed she is safe, relieved, and with family nearby.